Public health officials are investigating iced tea among other menu items at a Stephens County barbecue restaurant as the possible source of a major E. coli outbreak that has sickened as many as 18 people.
Eleven people have been confirmed to have E. coli infection, and seven others are probable cases, though their illness has not been confirmed by lab results, state officials say.
There have been no other infections reported since May 8.
Posted in Bacteria, E.coli, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Hygiene, Illness, Laboratory, Microbiology, Pathogen, Toxin
Tagged e coli infection, e coli outbreak, public health officials
RASFF – Shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli (presence /25g) in bovine meat (Bos taurus) from Argentina in the Netherlands
RASFF -Shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli in chilled boneless beef (Bos taurus) from Argentina in the Netherlands
RASFF – Shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli in bovine meat from Belgium
Posted in Bacteria, E.coli, E.coli O103, E.coli O104, E.coli O121, E.coli O145, E.coli O157, E.coli O26, EHEC, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Microbiology, Pathogen, RASFF, Recall, STEC
Tagged argentina, boneless beef, bos taurus, escherichia coli, netherlands, rasff
The presence and antimicrobial susceptibility of foodborne pathogens and indicator organisms in animal feed are not well understood. In this study, a total of 201 feed ingredient samples (animal byproducts, n=122; plant byproducts, n=79) were collected in 2002 and 2003 from representative rendering plants and the oilseed (or cereal grain) industry across the United States. The occurrence and antimicrobial susceptibility of four bacterial genera (Salmonella, Campylobacter, Escherichia coli, and Enterococcus) were determined. Salmonella isolates were further characterized by serotyping and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). None of the samples yielded Campylobacter or E. coli O157:H7, whereas Salmonella, generic E. coli, and Enterococcus were present in 22.9%, 39.3%, and 86.6% of samples, respectively. A large percentage (47.8%) of Salmonella-positive samples harbored two serovars, and the vast majority (88.4%) of Enterococcus isolates were E. faecium. Animal byproducts had a significantly higher Salmonella contamination rate (34.4%) than plant byproducts (5.1%) (p<0.05). Among 74 Salmonella isolates recovered, 27 serovars and 55 PFGE patterns were identified; all were pan-susceptible to 17 antimicrobials tested. E. coli isolates (n=131) demonstrated similar susceptibility to these antimicrobials except for tetracycline (15.3% resistance), sulfamethoxazole (7.6%), streptomycin (4.6%), ampicillin (3.8%), and nalidixic acid (1.5%). Enterococcus isolates (n=362) were also resistant to five of 17 antimicrobials tested, ranging from 1.1% to penicillin to 14.6% to tetracycline. Resistance rates were generally higher among isolates recovered from animal byproducts. Taken together, our findings suggest that diverse populations of Salmonella, E. coli, and Enterococcus are commonly present in animal feed ingredients, but antimicrobial resistance is not common. Future large-scale studies to monitor these pathogenic and indicator organisms in feed commodities is warranted.
Posted in Antibiotic Resistance, Antimicrobials, Bacteria, Campylobacter, E.coli, Enterococcus, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Laboratory, Microbiology, Pathogen, Research, Salmonella
Tagged animal feed ingredients, environment, field gel electrophoresis, salmonella contamination, science
A cocktail of non-pathogenic bacteria naturally occurring in the digestive tract of healthy humans can protect against a potentially lethal E. coli infection in animal models according to research presented today at the 113th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology. The research, conducted by scientists at the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, could have important implications for the prevention or even treatment of this disease.
Food microbiology laboratories continue to submit false negative results and false positive results on a routine basis. A retrospective study of nearly 40,000 proficiency test results over the past 14 years, presented today at the 113th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology, examined the ability of food laboratories to detect or rule out the presence of Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, and Campylobacter.
The study found that, on average, food laboratories report false negatives of 9.1% for Campylobacter, a bacterial foodborne illness that may cause bloody diarrhea, cramping and fever, and 4.9% for Salmonella, a bacteria that may cause diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps sometimes leading to hospitalization or death. The false positive rate, on average, is 3.9% for Salmonella, and 2.5% for both E. coli and L. monocytogenes.
Posted in Bacteria, Campylobacter, E.coli, E.coli O157, Food Inspections, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Technology, Food Testing, Laboraotry, Laboratory, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Microbiology, Pathogen, Research
Tagged american society for microbiology, diarrhea fever, microbiology laboratories, proficiency test results
RASFF – Too high count of Enterobacteriaceae (300;510;470;370;340 CFU/g) in lamb meal from the Netherlands, with raw material from New Zealand in Belgium
RASFF – Shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli (presence /25g) in boneless beef meat (Bos taurus) from Uruguay in Spain
RASFF – Too high count of Escherichia coli (9200 MPN/100g) in clams from Italy
RASFF – high count of Escherichia coli (2600 CFU/100g) in centella (Centella asiatica) from Sri Lanka
At least seven people in Stephens County, Ga., have fallen ill with E. coli in the last several weeks, leading health officials in the area to begin investigating the source of the outbreak, local radio station WNEG reports.
Two of the patients were hospitalized and are now recovering. Most of the seven sickened have been confirmed to have E. coli O157:H7.
While many pathogens cause serious diarrhea in children in developing countries, four stand out as culprits in most of the infections, a finding that could drive new prevention strategies, an international research team reported today.
The group spent 3 years in seven developing countries, collecting health information, lab samples, and outcome data on 3,439 youngsters who had moderate-to-severe diarrhea. They published their findings today in an early online release from The Lancet.
On a global scale each year, diarrheal diseases kill about 800,000 children under age 5, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa and southern Asia, according to the report.
Though interventions such as rotavirus vaccines are starting to have an impact on deaths and disease incidence, scientific data to guide other strategies to curb the diseases are scarce, especially in regions where child deaths are the highest, the group wrote.
To fill the gap, the team focused their analysis on kids under age 5 who did and didn’t have moderate-to-severe diarrhea in selected cities in Bangladesh, Gambia, India, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, and Pakistan. The study included 13,129 matched controls.
The researchers collected clinical and epidemiologic information, took anthropometric measurements, and took fecal samples to identify pathogens. For each child they made a follow-up home visit 60 days later to assess health status, clinical outcome, and growth measures.
Four pathogens were the most common causes of diarrhea across all sites: rotavirus, Cryptosporidium, enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) producing heat-stable toxin (ST), and Shigella, according to the study.
Posted in Bacteria, Cryptosporidium, E.coli, E.coli O103, E.coli O104, E.coli O121, E.coli O145, E.coli O157, E.coli O26, EHEC, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Safety, Food Testing, Food Virus, Foodborne Illness, Hand Washing, Hygiene, Illness, Microbiology, O103, Pathogen, Research, Shigella, STEC
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